1st post here looking for CC kids pics

[jess28]

This is my first post on this forum, after lurking here for quite a while. I am *very* new to the technical side of photography. I've been shooting for some time now but am finally getting brave enough to try to get away from auto shooting and actually learn how to technically take a good picture.

Here are a couple from a trip to the park. I do very little PP work, only a bit of brightness/contrast and cropping. Any pointers on how to improve would be very appreciated.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/skylarsmom2000/feet.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/skylarsmom2000/IMG_3588-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/skylarsmom2000/IMG_3593-1.jpg

[Robert_Lay]

I'm not sure that I know how to "technically take a good picture". Some might say that it's impossible. Taking a good picture is more of an aesthetic issue than a technical issue. I think that a person might do everything quite correctly from a technical point of view and still end up with an uninteresting dull picture.

Looking at the technical issues first, I notice that there is overexposure on all the shots. In the first two shots it's pretty obvious that there is no detail in the brighter, blown out highlights. In the last shot, the only thing blown out is the background sky. That's more acceptable. However, even there a remedy is obvious - don't shoot a subject with the sun directly behind or directly above the subject. The lighting is about as bad as it can get in those situations.

In #2 you managed to deal with the bad lighting a little better. At least the lighting is pretty good for everything except the top of his head, which is badly blown out.

You can learn to look for better lighting (such as open shade), or you can learn some exotic post processing tricks to dig yourself out of the hole.

In order to do a better critique your critics need more information, so the first thing to learn is to keep the EXIF data with the images - that way we don't have to ask for all of the "technical" data, such as the ISO, aperture, shutter, use of flash, focal length, etc.

Welcome to the POTN - you can get more information here than you ever wanted.

BTW, both of the last two shots are pretty cute!

[jess28]

Thanks for the welcome and for taking the time to offer advice. I can see how this site can get addictive quickly, I am learning so much from reading and lurking.

I think I worded that wrong. By "technically take a good picture" I mean I want to get away from my current plan that is pretty much push and pray and develop a better understanding of aperture, ISO etc. I greatly enjoy composing shots and looking for things to photograph but I don't have the technical skills at all to get away from letting the camera make decisions for me and being frustrated by the results.

The park pics were more candid snaps than anything else. The lighting was horrid. Overcast with "streaky" sun and lots of trees. I haven't learned to compensate for that yet.

Off to search to try to figure out how to keep the data. Thanks again!

[Robert_Lay]

Thanks for the welcome and for taking the time to offer advice. I can see how this site can get addictive quickly, I am learning so much from reading and lurking.

I think I worded that wrong. By "technically take a good picture" I mean I want to get away from my current plan that is pretty much push and pray and develop a better understanding of aperture, ISO etc. I greatly enjoy composing shots and looking for things to photograph but I don't have the technical skills at all to get away from letting the camera make decisions for me and being frustrated by the results.

The park pics were more candid snaps than anything else. The lighting was horrid. Overcast with "streaky" sun and lots of trees. I haven't learned to compensate for that yet.

Off to search to try to figure out how to keep the data. Thanks again!

Most image processing programs provide downsizing and ability to save again as JPG with an adjustable compression or quality. Those functions can be performed without the excising of the EXIF data. However, in Photoshop, for example, the "Save for the Web" function does in fact remove the EXIF data. A free program by Opanda can be installed in Win XP and provides an EXIF display by just right clicking on the jpg file.

The single most important feature of digital cameras is that the taken picture is viewable instantly. Furthermore, the EOS and the G series all provide Histogram displays of the taken pictures. The histogram is invaluable as a tool for assessing the exposure of the image and its tonal distribution. Therein lies the secret of good picture taking - instant feedback and immediate re-adjustment re-takes. Just like Polaroid only faster and better.

[lookingforaname]

just a quick observation - that in your first shot, the focus appears to be on the fabric in front of the feet and not the feet themselves.